Drawing himself up and out of bed, Hohenheim gathered up his supplies for the evening and fixed his glasses back upon his nose. He flicked on his flashlight and looked around the room. He slipped the radio into his pocket in hopes of hearing some good information, but he was expecting a bit of a busy night if all of his theories came true. He was looking forward to one aspect but not the other.

Ah well. He couldn't have everything go his way. He needed to get moving in order to make good use of the night. He really needed to explore this place as well, but he could do that if there were no good books in the library.

Heading out into the hallway, he set off.

[To Here]

The intercom came on, and as it did, it seemed to carry a little more interference than usual for a daytime announcement, a little more static. While the patients might have thought for a moment that once again the elusive woman on the radio had hacked into the Head Doctor's system, the man himself soon proved that theory faulty as he laughed over the broadcast.

"Hello, hello, everyone, and I'm sorry for the bad quality of this broadcast; we've been having some technical difficulties lately, you see, and we wanted to make sure everything was fixed by tomo...."

His voice crackled out into inaudibility for a moment before fading back in.

"Yes, hopefully that will be done soon. In any case, now's the time that you all head back to your rooms to enjoy a delicious meal... seasoned salmon! Yes, we have filets of very tasty, very juicy salmon seasoned with herbs and garlic; on the side, we have mashed potatoes, peas, and to drink, our usual assortment of beverages. For dinner, you'll all be enjoying vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce."

The intercom's broadcast crackled again. The Head Doctor laughed, seemingly a little nervously.

"Ah, yes, perhaps we'll be able to finish the repairing tomorrow, when all of you are away at... Doyleton! Yes, yes, you're all in for a fun and exciting day, a day whose activities will be new for some and a welcome familiarity to others. You'll be under strict supervision, of course, but... well, I suppose you'll find out all about the circumstances tomorrow, before you set off, mm? Yes! In any case... I hope you all enjoy dinner!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began ushering patients back to their quarters.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. (You can find your character's room assignment here.) Remember, everyone responds to this post with their character's room number in the subject line. ]

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]

[starting off in M13]

The last part of the night was little more than a blur in Homura's mind. The men had rushed in, but not joined them, instead staying off to themselves. Before any of them had a chance to react, however, a voice sounded through the air, mocking some other person Homura had never heard of, and the patients themselves.

To Homura, whoever that man was, he sounded a great deal like a god.

But before he could ask questions, the demi-god found himself no longer in the chapel, but some strange room on a bed. Is that what Kenren had meant from his earlier warning? Homura sat up, glad at least that the world didn't spin when he did so. Then the same man from before began to speak again, with a completely different tone. It was confusing to hear him talk that way, calling them patients instead of prisoners as he had before. Homura listened quietly as the announcement was made, then got out of bed.

Maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere yet. It wasn't like Homura knew where to go anyway, and that meant he had time. If this was his room, and if he had been here as long as Kenren had said, there was a chance he could find something with answers. The Taisho had even told him that Homura had seen Rinrei. Certainly he would've written something down, made a map, something that could let him find her again! He started with the desk at the end of his bed, first finding a small stack of notebooks. Picking up the first, he flipped through, turning the pages with quickening desperation as he found each one to be blank.

[from here]

Okita had hefted his weight against the door in his desperation to get out of the room, but found that it opened much more easily than he expected. The door gave way and he stumbled into the corridor, the smell from his "therapy" following him out. His head snapped up, eyes searching wildly for anyone in the area.

But there was no one. None of the other doors were opened yet and he was alone.

If he'd had his wits about him, that would have bothered him. As it was, he was focused solely on getting out and away from the evidence of what had happened to him. The smell...it plagued him. The sludge still clung to his skin, matting his hair against his bare torso. It stung and it reeked and it...

He needed out.

Turning, he ran for the door, grabbing the handle to pull at it like a madman. The room was suffocating him. He needed out. He needed air. He needed something that didn't taste like disease and death in his mouth. Backing up, he let out an infuriated yell and kicked at the door - once, twice, three times - until the lock broke and the door swung open.

[going here]

[from here]

Mello turned right and started down the hallway closest to the stairwell he'd used to reach the second floor.  Before him, everything was silent, though the bulletin had told him that past the wall to his left, people were being tortured and used as experiements.

He mentally shrugged as he moved down the corridor, focusing on the white circle of his flashlight's beam and giving those poor souls only the most cursory of thoughts.  As long as it wasn't him. 

At the end of the hallway, he stopped to dig out the blade of the surgical scissors he'd used to modify his radio.  It was dented and slightly bent, but it should be good enough.  He dropped to one knee and slid the thin strip of metal into the doorknob's hole, then turned it as he listened for the weak thump that would indicate the tumblers falling into their assigned positions.

It shouldn't take longer than a minute or two.  The last few years had definitely given him an advantage over his peers.

[to here]

[from here]

Leon tucked his flashlight into his heavy sweater, relying on Clark to provide light for them. He couldn't carry the bat and light in one hand and use either effectively. He moved relatively slowly, opting for stealth over speed. It was still quiet up here, though he thought he could hear the sounds of combat coming from the Sun Room below. Much as he wanted to go investigate, and maybe help, he knew that he'd be more of a hindrance than anything right now.

"So, what got you sent here?" Leon asked, a bit curious. "It seems like everyone here has some kind of weird background or talent... how'd a kid from Kansas end up in a place like this?" His own past was strange enough to merit his inclusion in the ranks, Leon supposed. For the first time in a long, long while, he wished he'd led a more normal life. Could've stayed in Seattle, worked as a cop there. He never would have gotten mixed up in all of this. Of course, then no one would have been there to save Claire in Raccoon City, or to help Ada... things would have gone very differently. Leon sighed quietly, and shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus.

[from here]

One row over - first row in. Sai had stopped needing to look at the room numbers some time ago. He couldn't help but wonder if Usopp would be surprised to see him. His visits were a regular occurrence, but it wasn't as though he'd told the pirate he'd be coming this night in particular. He didn't think he'd be shooed away, but perhaps he should have asked?

[to here]

"Good evening, patients and staff!" the Head Doctor said just as the intercom's usual jingle ended. Strangely, he seemed even more tense now than he had been throughout the day, though as he continued to speak, he seemed to get back into the usual swing of things. "I hope you all had very productive outdoor activities today and helpful therapy sessions to boot. Now, however, we must all begin to retire, and as always, our nurses will be bringing your dinner to your rooms shortly after your being escorted there. Tonight's meal includes a generous portion of delicious spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese (and meatballs if you choose), along with sides of hot garlic bread and fresh Caesar salad. For dessert, we will be serving slices of moist chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream."

The Head Doctor paused, and there was the sound of rustling and then muffled voices, as if the doctor had put his hand over the microphone and was clarifying something with someone--a female voice, probably Lydia. He took his hand off the mic and cleared his throat.

"Yes, that's all for now. I hope you all enjoy dinner, and remember, some of you tonight will be lucky enough to participate in our CM-US Experimental Therapy Trials, so look forward to that after the meal. Goodbye for now!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommates, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. ]

So the nurse had smiled and bustled over at Alkaid after breakfast, and said it was her turn to go to the greenhouse. In fact, it was all the ladies' turn at the greenhouse, and that people were heading there right now.

Which made Alkaid blanch. Like hell she was going to stand around potting plants for an hour or more. She didn't feel very up to standing on her feet in the first place, seeing as she was still kind of dizzy from last night's encounter. So she searched her mind for some lame excuse she could give to prevent her from going out there into the heat.

"Uhh," she started, trying to come up with some good bullshit. "I, uh.. don't feel good, so. If there's any chance that I could, you know, stay inside, I think that'd be much better for my constitution. A .. uh, nap, maybe?" Alkaid rubbed at her bandaged neck, trying to garner some form of sympathy from the stupid woman who she'd never stop thinking of as an NPC.

Alkaid was a terrible actress. She knew this. She couldn't even hide her true feelings in a video game, but somehow (joy of joys) the NPC took pity on her, pausing in the Sun Room. "All right, hon, you can take a nap here."

Heh. Score. Like she was told, she made her way over to one of the couches and sprawled out on it, feigning sleep until she was sure the nurse was gone to escort some other patient somewhere else. Then she hopped right back up, ripping the bandage from her neck. (The dark toothmarks would blend in with her tattoos, right? And she didn't want proof of last night's injury to be that noticeable.) Then she walked around a little, finally edging over to the bulletin board, hands on her hips.

What have we here?

[waiting for some silver-haired rpg protagonist]

Renamon blinked, and suddenly she was laying flat in the bed she had originally woke up in. The timing was impeccable, accenting Orihime's explanation perfectly. She just hoped that she hadn't freaked the girl out with her little disappearing act. She quickly shifted out of bed, and grabbed the journal she had wrote notes in last night, and jotted down another page. No sooner did she finish did her ever-so-friendly nurse come to collect her. Renamon didn't respond to the nurse's excited talk of making friends and breakfast, and simply followed her, journal in hand.

She paused at the Sunroom to leave a message on the Bulletin Board to Toboe. Hopefully the wolf had simply gotten lost, and wasn't truly gone. On the other hand, maybe she should be hoping that the boy had found a way out, and a way home. No use overly worrying about it now.

She continued to the Cafeteria, only pausing to take a plain muffin and water. It seemed she was early. She sat at a table near the wall, scanning over her notes and waiting for her breakfast date.

[Waiting for Kairi and Sora]

Nathan was somewhat thankful to hear the heavy sound of the doors unlocking and opening that night. Sure, no one in their right mind wouldn've wanted to wake up to live a nightmare, but in his mind it was at least better than falling into a coma-like state and unable to even open your eyes. He grabbed his flashlight and the radio that so many people seemed to think would help them on their nightly expeditions. A quick glance over in Cid's direction confirmed what Peter had said. Apparently this was his roommate's night sleep in.

Nathan didn't frankly have the time to waste trying to wake the other pilot and was out the door only a minute or so after the Head Doctor dived into his maniacal tyrade for the evening. They'd have to make good time tonight. There was a lot he needed to tell his brother, and apparently they were babysitting some other, poor sap to top it all off. Leaning against the wall with his arms folded in a brooding sort of way that he'd developed over the months, Nathan waited patiently for Peter.

The intercom clicked on and the Head Doctor spoke with his usual fervor.

"Good evening, patients and staff! I am pleased to announce that the arrival of nearly all of our new patients will conclude this shift. In addition, we have a very delicious dinner in store for you: carved Turkey with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed, seasoned vegetables. For drinks, we have our usual assortment available, and as a dessert included with your dinner, we will be serving a slice of warm apple pie with each meal.

"I trust that those of you enjoying the company of new roommates will give them a warm Landel's welcome, and I also hope that those of you who participated in therapy today were able to find a productive time with their doctors.

"That's all for now! Enjoy dinner, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off again.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommate, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. While we have none scheduled for this shift at this time: all introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post; the introduction may then continue on to be a regular roommate thread. ]

Sanosuke hadn't quite been ready to part ways from Kenshin, but his nurse was insistent, and she was offering food. That second thing was what really got Sano off the couch and headed to the cafeteria. And at the very least, the thing about Okita had been settled, which meant the fighter could focus on his meal.

That may or may not have been a good thing, though.

What the hell was it with these people and their obsession with flat folding things to eat with? Sanosuke had thought that western countries could at least figure out chopsticks at some point. Simple, easy, uncomplicated, glorious chopsticks. But no, instead it was all weird bread things that randomly exploded all over Sanosuke without it being his fault whatsoever. And orange rice, which was just impossible to forgive, but thankfully had yet to reappear.

And as if that hadn't been bad enough, now the weird flat bread things weren't even round anymore. No, Sanosuke was left with some odd triangle shape, peppers that smelled a lot hotter than the kinds he was used to, and this sort of dust that Pinky called cheese, and promised would be good if Sanosuke just tried it.

Which Sano had heard before, plenty of times. Oh yes, he could count the number pretty easily, when Jo-chan tried her hand at some new recipe, some old recipe, or some recipe so simple that even Sanosuke could make it in his sleep, all of which she promised would be good this time, and none of which actually were.

Never stopped Sanosuke from eating them though. Free food was free food.

And dust or no, he'd eat this stuff too. The man had already decided to by the time he'd gotten to his seat. Between the smell and the rumbling in his stomach, Sano didn't figure he had much choice. He would just have to take his time, figure out the best way to go about eating it without getting the stuff all over his face again.

Simple. Had to be.

[Waiting for Zuko?]

Sylar's gears were still turning as the nurse and a burly orderly escorted him down long halls and through a strange, sunlit room. He'd been forced to drop his pen when the orderly had seen it, and since then, he'd realized that this place had better security than he'd originally anticipated, as well as a large population of patients. It looked like he'd have to bide his time for now, pretending to be this 'Zachary Blaine' and trying to figure out how the hell he'd gotten here.

His mind went over and over the events in Mohinder's lab, tracing every second that led up to his unconsciousness. According to the computer logs and the decked-out loft, Mohinder was working for the Company now, so had that woman with the electricity been an operative? Was this all a Company front? Even so, it didn't make sense for them to drop him off somewhere without any close supervision. They knew how dangerous he was. How special he was.

But right now, his abilities had been nullified and he was left only with the option of playing along. It was a very good thing that it was something he excelled at, even with his sudden loss of the cure clouding his thoughts and telling him to do something drastic.

Still, it was fun to take ahold of strings and let someone think they were pulling him when in fact he was the puppetmaster. Who knew? Maybe he could find a new toy now that his last one had worn out.

Sylar took his syrup-covered waffle to a table and tried to keep track of both the security and the people flooding in. Soon, he'd find an opening, a weak link he could exploit. It was only a matter of time.

The night hadn't come soon enough.

Lucivar had spent all day keeping a low profile. He found it was the easiest way to ensure he didn't lose his temper. Oh, he felt it bubbling beneath the surface but keeping his mouth shut and his head down proved to keep him out of trouble. All he had to do was wait until nightshift, that's what he kept telling himself. He could let his temper out then and he looked forward to it.

He ignored whatever the prick had said and instead stood from his bed, stretching. The muscles in his back uncoiled, his phantom wings should have been brushing against the top of the ceiling. The thought stoked his anger and he smiled when he turned the doorknob, seeing it unlock and open the door easily. It was time to show the person behind all of this madness just what he was keeping captured inside his walls. It was time to unleash the eyrien warlord prince.

Lucivar couldn't be more elated.

[headed here]

The intercom's jingle came on with its usual overly-cheery quality, echoing through the halls and doctors' offices.

"I trust, as always, that you all enjoyed the last shift and that all the staff-patient interaction went smoothly. Of course, we're nearing the end of another day and so we must begin to bring things to a close. Nurses and orderlies, please escort all the patients to their respective rooms and make sure everyone gets their dinner--which is, by the way, chicken teriyaki and assorted tempura, along with rice and miso soup--before they retire for the night. A vegetarian substitute is of course available, and we have our usual assortment of drinks; we also have a special of hot green tea to go along with the meal.

"Thank you, everyone, for an exceedingly pleasant day, and our therapy sessions will continue tomorrow as scheduled. Enjoy your dinner, and I will be on again before bedtime to say goodnight."

The announcement ended.

[ As always, individual dinner threads go in response to this post, and it helps to put your character's room number in the subject line. Thanks! ]